Nameberry intern Hannah Tenison, a University of Michigan senior planning on a law career, picks twelve of the most charming fictional princess names, from fairy tales to video games.

Fiery and feisty princess Merida has come bounding into the spotlight with the release of the newest animated Pixar film, “Brave,” and with her, a whole slew of marketing fixated on the newest animated princess. With all the recent focus on royal ladies, it seems only fitting to take a look at all the other fictional princesses and the world of princess names. These fictional princess names range from strong, to elegant, to frilly—just right for a modern day little girl. Here are some of the best, from Arwen to Zelda, Aurora to Rosalina

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Posted April 29th, 2011

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Celebrity Names

Girl Baby Names

Historic Names

Princess names are a subject of fascination for us, one we last covered by detailing all the names of the next generation of little princesses, from Aiko to Eleonore.

Now, in honor of the newest princess by marriage, Catherine of Wales, we look at the names of women who, like fairy tale Cinderellas, became princesses when they married princes. Most of those listed here are contemporary princess in Europe and Japan, though there are historical examples too.

The most common princess names are the classics: Mary, Louise, Victoria, Charlotte, Alexandra, Elizabeth, Caroline, Sophia and Sophie. But there are some more adventurous examples that might inspire: Augusta, Letizia, Tatiana.

And what of Princess Kate? Princess Catherine? For her moment in the spotlight, we declare hers the loveliest princess name of all.

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Princess Names

Posted April 28th, 2009

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princess1 One of my embarrassing little obsessions is princess names. The whole idea of royalty, in these modern times, is kind of embarrassing. And then there’s the issue of encouraging your daughter to aspire to be a princess rather than, say, a doctor or an astronaut. For more on this, check out Peggy Orenstein’s great piece from the New York Times, “What’s Wrong With Cinderella?” and her bestselling book, Cinderella Ate My Daughter.

The fact, in our experience, is that most little girls go through a phase of wanting to be princesses whether you encourage them to or not. And there’s a lot of great name inspiration to be found in the world of royalty.

The most obvious place to start is with names that mean princess — for the most part limited to Sarah and her variations. Sara, Sera, Sarai, Sadie, Soraya, and Zadie are all possibilities. A British “glamour model” named her daughter Princess, though we don’t recommend this.

Another source for princess names is fictional: fairy tales, legends, and the art of Walt Disney. Some ideas:

Ariel — The Little Mermaid, princess of an undersea world, has already inspired many namesakes.

Aurora — One of the “real” names of Sleeping Beauty.

Fiona — The princess from Shrek, a great role model though a little girl might feel ambivalent about carrying her name.

Giselle — The heroine played by Amy Adams in Enchanted.

Jasmine — The name of the princess in Aladdin gave rise to a generation of real-life girls named Jasmine (and Jazmyn, Yasmina, et al)

Kilala — A Japanese fantasy/romance manga princess whose story plays out against her Disney counterparts.

Odette — The Swan Princess.

Sasami — Japanese anime character who is a princess of Jurai.

Signy — Princess heroine of an Icelandic fairy tale who lives inside a giant oak tree.

Tiana — Disney’s first black princess.

Vasilissa — Meaning “queen” in Greek, Vasilissa is the heroine of a Russian fairy tale who starts out as a poor girl and ends up marrying the king.

Zelda — Princess in the popular Legend of Zelda video game.

Better inspiration might be found via the real little princesses of the world, with their string of four or five names for some poor future spouse to stumble over at the royal wedding. A selection of those born over the past decade or so:

Aiko — Japan

Alexandra Charlotte Ulrike Maryam Virginia — Hanover

Alexia Juliana Marcela Laurentien — Netherlands

Amelia — Greece

Ana María — Greece

Anastasia “Anna” Margriet Josephine – Netherlands

Ariane Wilhelmina Maxima Ines — Netherlands

Arrietta — Greece

Catharina-Amalia Beatrix Carmen Victoria – Netherlands

Elisabeth Thérèse Marie Hélène of Belgium

Eleonore Fabiola Victoria Anne Marie – Belgium

Eloise Sophie Beatrix Laurence — Netherlands